UNITED
NATIONS, July
26 -- After UN
Security
Council
members met
informally
with four
Syrian
opposition
figures,
France's
Permanent
Representative
Gerard Araud
emerged and
declared that
the vast
majority of
member states
in the UN
General
Assembly view
these four
as the only
legitimate
representatives
of the Syrian
people.

Inner
City Press
asked Araud
what this was
based on,
since the
proponents
of the last
UNGA
resolution
repeatedly
said it was
not a
referendum
on who to
recognize at
the UN.

Moments
later,
Inner City
Press asked
Russian
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly
Churkin about
Araud's claim
about the vast
majority of
states
recognize this
groups as the
only
legitimate
representative
of the
Syrian people.

Churkin
said,
he's such a
great
mathematician,
then said that
discussion was
out of place,
it was not the
purpose the
meeting to
recognize
anyone.

UNCA
will hold a
press briefing
with the
delegation of
the National
Coalition of
the Syrian
Revolution and
Opposition
Forces
tomorrow,
Friday, July
26th in the
UNCA Meeting
room S-310
soon after the
informal UN
Security
Council
Meeting.

The
delegation
will include:

Ahmad
al-Jarba,
President of
the Syrian
Coalition

Michel
Kilo and
Burhan
Ghalioun,
Syrian
Coalition
members and
members of the
Syrian
Coalition
Political
Committee

Dr.
Najib
Ghadbian,
Special
Representative
of the Syrian
Coalition to
the
United Nations

It
is a choice,
and a bias, to
list Najib
Ghadbian as
the "Special
Representative
of the Syrian
Coalition to
the United
Nations."

Several member
states brought
this up to
Inner City
Press (and
one,
to the new Free UN Coalition for Access); on
behalf of both
at
Friday's noon
briefing Inner
City Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesperson
Eduardo Del
Buey if such a
position
exists, and
why the UN
gives a big
space to UNCA
to hold
briefing
such as this
publicized
only to those
who pay money.

Del
Buey promised
to look into
it and provide
an answer.
Inner City
Press
asked that
some answer be
given before
the dubious
session by
UNCA, led by
Pamela Falk of
CBS News. But
none came.

Why
would the UN
give its --
the member
states' --
space to a
group that
invites only
some types of
speakers, and
does not
publicize it
to all
UN accredited
journalists?

And what does
this birds of
a feather
connection say
about al-Jarba
et al? Why not
just do it in
the Saudi
mission? Or
have Saudi
Arabia sponsor
a real press
conference, in
the
UN briefing
room,
publicized and
comfortable to
all UN
accredited
journalists?